Coal-picking table.



J. B. JONES;

GOAL PIGKING TABLE.

APPLICATION rum) mm. 29,1908.

Patented July 6, 1909.

' ATTORNEYS Q M R UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN ELMER JONES, OF HAZLETON, PENNSYLVANIA.

COALPICKING TABLE.

To all whom "it may concern:

Be it known that I, J OHN ELMER JoNns, a citizen of the United States of America, and residing in the city of Hazleton, in the county of Luzerne and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Coal-Picking Tables, oi which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to picking tables and particularly to a chute or table for the hand picking of slate from coal, the object of my invention. being to provide an improved device of this character as more fully explained below.

In the-accompanying drawings, Figure l is a vertical section taken longitudinally through a picking table embodying my invention and Fig. 2 is a plan of the same.

It is now customary after the coal has come from the jigs, screens and automatic separators which are in general use at coal breakers, to feed the coal to a chute or traveling belt which carries the coal past hand pickers who are arranged upon or on each side of the chute or belt and pick from the passing stream of coal such slate and other impurities as have not been eliminated in the automatic separator. Traveling belts are however, very expensive for this work and while fairly satisfactory in certain respects are not in as common use as chutes. The latter are constructed of iron or steel, and are adjusted to the desired incline beneath a hopper which receives the coal from the automatic separators or screens. When the incline has been adjusted, the chute remains stationary and the coal slides down by gravity at a speed which is of course governed principally by the incline at which the chute is adjusted. These chutes are however unsatisfactory in operation since it is difficult to secure their adjustment to the proper angle, the surface of the chute varying from hour to hour in the smoothness of its surface, (owing to oxidation over night) and it is a common sight to see the pickers either )ulling the coal down the chute with the left hand while picking with the right, or on the contrary, holding back with the right hand while picking with the left. It is obvious that the efficiency of the pickers is thus materially less than it would be were a steady even flow of coal past them supplied, thus enabling them to use both hands at all times for picking. My present device aims to accomplish this end, while the Specification of Letters Patent.

. Application filed December 29, 1908.

Patented July 6, 1909.

Serial No. 469,852.

apparatus employed is of simple construction and operation and at the same time cl increased ejtlicicncy in operation. It con1- prises an inclined table A pivoted at its lcrwer end. upon standards B and subjected at its upper end to the action of a siii'ioothly acting cam C, the term cam being used in a sense broad enough to cover an eccentric as shown. This cam may be mounted in bearings l) car ried by the standards E. A shoe l at the upper end of the table is provided for the cam to bear against; while the lower end of the table is made vertically adjustable to regulate the speed of the flow of coal. Any suitable adjusting means may be employed, as for instance a threaded screw G with handle g, passing through a nut and plate ll which rest on the slotted standards B and engaging the yoke I which forms a bearing for the pivoting spindle K carried in the brackets L on the lower end of the table.

As will be noted from the cross section Fig. 1, the bottom M of the table is not of uniform pitch from one end to the other, but gradually increases in pitch toward the lower end. It is immaterial whether this change in pitch be obtained by a series of overlapping plates, the pitch. of which is gradually increased, as shown in the drawing, or the change in pitch takes the form of a parabolic curve, sharpest at the lower end. of the table. The object of this construction of the table bottom is principally two fold. In the first place the pitch being less at the head of the chute the coal which is delivered from the hopper in a more or less concentrated stream midway between the sides of the table has a chance to spread out into a comparatively evenly distributed shallow current of coal by the time it reaches the pickers arranged farther down along the sides of the table and the slate and other impurities are thus not buried beneath the coal and missed by the pickers as is not infrequently the case with the stationary chutes generally used. in the second place, the table being pivoted at the lower end the throw of the cam gradually decreases in oilect from the upper to the lower end of the table and this must be com- I pcnsated for by increasing the pitch. in the manner described. Otherwise the coal backs up at the lower end of the table and obstructs the flow of the current.

It should be pointed out that the throw of the cam is slight, for eXainole about two inches on a twelve foot table, yet this has proved very efficacious in practice for the purpose mentioned. Again it should be remarked that the cam employed is smooth and imparts an undulating motion to the upper end of the table. An eccentric is perhaps the ideal, but a smooth cam of moderate throw answers very well.

In operation the cam being rotated at a suitable speed the coal discharged upon the upper end of the table spreads out under the movement of the cam and flows in a steady stream past the pickers. It the flow is not at the desired speed the latter may be controlled by raising or lowering the lower end of the table as explained.

It has been demonstrated in actual operation that the flow of coal past the pickers is much more uniform than in the chutes in common use and that in consequence the eliiciency of the pickers is greatly increased since the time and effort previously used in pulling down or holding back the coal may now be devoted exclusively to picking.

Modifications for the details of my construction, which do not depart from the scope ol' the invention will readily suggest themselves, and I do not limit myself to the precise structure shown.

I claim as my invention:

1. A hand picking table of the type described, having a smooth sliding surface for the unobstructed passage of the material to be inspected, saidv table being arranged on an incline and pivoted at its lower end, in combination with means to impart to the upper end of said table a smooth vertically reciprocating motion whereby a steady feed of the material down said table is obtained, substantially as described.

2. A picking table of the type described arranged on an incline and pivoted at its lower end, the bottom of said table being of varying pitch increasing toward the lower end, in combination with a smoothly acting cam bearing against the upper end of said table to impart to the same an undulating" feeding motion, substantially as and for the purpose described.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification, in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

JOHN ELMER JONES.

Witnesses E. J. GORMLEY, JOHN WILHELM. 

